Sounds like your boot sequence is not correct. Enter BIOS and find the Boot Sequence menu. Make sure that the internet hard drive is listed. I think it's not and the BIOS can't find the bootloader in the devices listed. When it prompts you to put in a disk, you cancel, so it then by default goes to the hard drive. Make sure the hard drive is listed in the boot sequenc and the error message should disappear.

The keystroke for getting into BIOS varies from one manufacturer to another. Some it's DEL, other's it's F2, other's it's F1, other's it's something else. Watch the splash screen carefully to see what it is.

Every other forum ive read on this subject has said its no big deal, Its just a sure fire way of resetting bios settings and getting rid of problems like this.

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Removing your battery will not do damage to your motherboard. What it will do is reset the BIOS information to default and sometimes that will slow your computer down a bit. BUT since you have never changed anything in your BIOS and everything was already at default you have nothing to worry about and anybody who tells ya different is to be ignored.

Well you can keep shopping for advice until you find some you like.
Here are the various BIOS codes for 97 percent all machines, in no particular order.
<Ctrl>, <Ctrl +1, 2, or 3>, >F1>, <F2>, <F3>, <F10>, <F11>, <F12> <Del>, <Ins>

Every other forum ive read on this subject has said its no big deal, Its just a sure fire way of resetting bios settings and getting rid of problems like this.

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Usually it's not a big deal. The only risk is that you're handling the electronics without possibly grounding yourself first. You could fry something accidentally doing that. Aside from that, there's no way to damage the battery.

What Disc version of Windows do you have? A full Windows XP? An OEM Windows XP? Or a Recovery disc from some computer manufacturer such as Dell, Gateway, eMachines, HP, Compaq, SystemMax, IBM Lenovo, or the like.

This will be important in working up a fix. I don't have the full thread available to me a the moment.